Archaeological Study of Social Complexity

3 units

A hallmark of anthropological theory is the idea that human societies evolve toward greater complexity or higher levels of organization through time. Yet accurately defining complexity or organization is such a difficult and frustrating undertaking that many people give up and fall back on an intuitive understanding, similar to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's famous definition of pornography: I know it when I see it. But what exactly does it mean to be socially complex? How does complexity in human societies emerge and how is it perpetuated? How can we infer social complexity from the archaeological record? In this seminar we will examine theoretical and methodological aspects of social complexity as investigated by archaeologists. By means of case studies drawn from around the globe and ranging from the earliest humans to the recent past, we will seek to define, describe, and understand the concept of social complexity and its manifestations in diverse societies at different times.